Labeling-machine.



L. C. PALMER.

LABELING MACHINE.

APPLICATION man one. so, 1911.

Patented Jan. 4, 1916.

6 SHEETS--SHEET of. mm Mom 95g 612mm;

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH C0.. WASHINGTON. D. c.

L. C. PA LMER.

LABELING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED DEC.30 19H. v j

' Patented Jau1.4, 1916.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH ccuwAsnma'roN, D. c.

L. C. PALMER. LABELING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED mac. 30. IBM.

Patented Jan. 4, 1916.

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COLUMBIA PLANOURAPH c0.. wAsnmu-mn. D c.

L. C. PALMER.

V LABELING 'MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED 050.30.,1911.

Patented Jah. 4, 1916.

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COLUMBIA PLANOURAPH CD.,WASHINGTDN, D. c.

L. C. PALMER.

LABELING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED mac. 30, 1911.

1,166,780. Patented Jan. 4, 1916.

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L. C. PALMER.

LABELING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED mac. so, 1911.

1,166,780. Patentd 12111.4,1916.

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LYNDON .CONSTANTINE PALMER, 0F BUFFALO, NEW" YORK, ASSIGNOR T0 F. N.BURT COMPANY, LIMITED, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF CANADA.

LABELING-MACHINE.

Original application filed December 17, 1910, Serial No. 597,914.Divided and this application filed December 30, 1911. Serial No.668,690.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LYNDON CONSTANTINE PALMER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Labeling-Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, such as will enable others. skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to mechanism for coating articles with liquid,and more especially to devices for applying adhesive. to paper articles,for the subsequent attachment of labels.

One object of the invention is the provision of mechanism forefficiently coating a surface or wall of a hollow article, such asapaper box with glue.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a comparativelysimple mechanism for coating a large number of boxes with glue in ashort space of time.

Another object is to provide a device in which the adhesive isaccurately and economically applied to the parts to be glued, withoutwaste and without gumming up adjacent parts.

Another object is the provision of a practical device for applyingadhesive to the wall of an empty box.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed outhereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combinations of elements and arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the construction here inafter set forth, and the scope ofthe application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein is shown one of the possibleembodiments of this invention, Figure 1 is a plan view of the machine;Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof; Fig. 3 is a side view'of themechanism for transferring the articles to be glued from an" endlessbelt conveyer to the-rotary carrier; Fig. 4 is a detail of Fig. 3,partly in section;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged side elevation, partly sectional, showing the gluetank, the box carrier and the guides for the glue-applying roller; Fig.6 is a plan showing the glueapplying roller and attached frictionroller;

Fig. is a plan of the guide for the glueapplymg roller, showing thefriction plate and the friction roller; Fig. 8 is a section on line w-w,Fig. 7 F ig.9 is a detail view; Fig. 10 is a plan of a cam'andcooperative links and levers employed in operating the glue-applyingroller; Fig. 11 is a detail view showing the glue pad carrier; Fig. 12is a sectional side elevation showing the operating mechanism for thecross-head; Fig. 13 is a view at right angles to Fig. 12.

The general arrangement of the preferred embodiment of the invention issimilar to that disclosed'in applicantsv co-pending application, SerialNo. 597,914, filed December 17 1910, of which this application is adivision.

In the present embodiment it is designed to coat boxes which are open oruncovered, as for instance one section of a cigarette box, which latteroften comprises two sections, each section composedof a head or bottomand a surrounding flange, one section serving as the receptacle portionand the other as the cover. The coat may be applied either on the insideor outside of the box, the present embodiment comprising mechanism moreparticularly adapted for applying a coat of adhesive, such as glue, tothe outside of the head or bottom. .In order to efiiciently coat thesectionswith glue in definite places, and in order that the coat of glueshall be uniformly applied so as to efliciently receive,

for instance, a label to be attached-to the section, it is desirablethat the wall to be coated shall be substantially supported and bracedso as not to move or be distorted, in which latter instance the coatmight not be accurately or evenly applied. Accordingly, when a box is tobe coated on the outside, the present embodiment offers especialfacilities, as it permits the box to be located on a support in what maybe termed an inverted position, when an open box is considered.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 1represents an intermittently rotatable horizonal table or disk, and 2 astationary platform centrally disposed relative to the table.Intermittent movement is given the table by any efficient, means,preferably by a Geneva gear 3 driven from a shaft 4 through a mainhorizontal driving shaft 5, and bevel gears 6 and 7.

Patented Jan. 4, i916.

The shaft 4: is provided with a gear wheel 8 which, by means of gears 9and 10, communicates motion to vertical shafts 11 and 12 on which saidlatter gears are respectively mounted, as disclosed in the aforesaidapplication.

To the upper face of the disk 1 are adjustably secured blocks or boxrests 13 of a size to accurately fit and support in relative stationaryposition the elements orboxes to Which the adhesive is to be applied. Aplurality of the rests 13 are equally spaced around the disk near theperiphery thereof, and as the disk or rotary table 1. is moved by itsoperating mechanism the rests move in an endless path intern'iittently,their periods of rest being preferably longer than their periods ofmotion. The articles or boxes to be coated with adhesive may be appliedto the rests in any suitable manner, but preferably are automaticallyfed thereto as hereinafter described. As the disk rotates step by step,the boxes are carried one by one into position adjacent a device whichapplies glue to a surface or wall thereof, and they remain in thisposition while the coat of adhesive is applied thereto.

As before stated, the present embodiment of the invention is moreparticularly intended to coat the heads of box elements which are openor uncovered, such as one element of a two-part cigarette box, and therests are designed to accurately fit and receive thereover, or telescopewith, such a box, with its head resting in horizontal position on theupper face of the rest, so as to be braced thereby, the telescopicengagement maintaining the relative alinement of the box in the machine.

The numeral 1 indicates a horizontal bed plate supported above a lowerfixed table 15, the former supporting the intermittently rotatingtable 1. I

The numeral 16 indicates a cross head of a movable plunger deviceoperating adjacent the path of the box rests on the disk 1.

17 are the guide and supporting rods of the plunger, which are connectedat their upper portions by the cross head 16, and at their lowerportions intermediate the bed plate and the fixed table by a cross piece18 securely clamped to each rod at its ends, respectively. The guiderods 17 respectively pass througl alined guide openings in the fixedtable and bed plate. The plunger is designed to reciprocate vertically,for a purpose which will hereinafter appear, and in order to effect suchmovement the main driving shaft 5 is provided with a cam 20 whichcooperates with the roller of a rock lever 21 pivoted at one end to astandard 22 on the table and at its other end connected by a link 23 tothe cross piece 18. As the shaft 5 rotates, reciprocatory motion iscommunicated to the cross head in a manner which will be obvious fromthe construction just described, and the contour of the cam 20 is, ofcourse, designed to effect such movement to the proper extent and at theproper time in the operation of the machine.

Laterally projecting from the cross head 16 is an arm 2% which supportsa glue pad carrier 25 above and in vertical alinement with the path ofthe box rests and in that point of the path where the box rests are heldstationary by the operation of the driving devices of the carrierdisk 1. It is preferable to apply the glue to the boxes by means of ayielding or elastically constructed carrier, and to this end the carrier25 comprises a plate 26 secured beneath the arm 21, below which is apreferably reotangular plate 27 spaced from the plate 26 and looselysecured thereto by means of pins 28 attached adjacent the corners of theplate 27 and passing freely through guide openings in the plate 26, stopnuts being thread ed on the pins 28 above the latter. Around each pin28, between the plates 26 and 27, is a spring 29 tending to resistmovement of said plates toward each other. The glue carrier is providedwith a suitable glue retaining surface, preferably a removable pad 30 ofsponge rubber covered with canvas. It is designed to apply glue to thepad and to subsequently lower the pad so that its glued surface shallcontact with the box on the box rest immediately therebeneath, thislatter movement being accomplished by the downward movement of the crosshead 16 under the influence of the cam 20, as before described. Inasmuchas the pad may be reciprocated by the cross head when a box is not inposition on the rest, it is de signed that the pad, under suchcircumstances, when in its lowest position shall not touch the uppersurface of the box rest. Fingers 31 are, accordingly, secured to the bedplate 14 and the platform 2, respectively, and project horizontally overthe edges of the rest. The distance between the fingers 31 and thesurface of the rest 13 is such that they will contact with the shoulder32 of the glue pad carrier and stop its descent before its glued surfacereaches the surface of the rest. When a box is in position on the rest,however, its thickness fills up a part of thedistance between thefingers and the upper surface of the rest, permitting the glued surfaceof the pad to contact with the box. lVhen the glue pad retreats or risesfrom glue-applying position on the box the latter might adhere to thepad, and the fingers 31 also serve as strippers to detach the box fromthe pad under such condition.

One of the important uses of this invention is the coating of boxes orlabels with ad hesive in order to secure them together neatly andsmoothly and the preferred substance to secure the labels to the boxescomprises an adhesive such as paste or glue, the same being applied tothe parts by mechanism which automatically and accurately coats one ofthe parts, preferably the box elements, with the adhesive. It isevident, however, that the coating mechanism may be employed to coatparts with other substances which would take part in effecting theaffixing of the label to the box, and such uses'are therefore notoutside the purview of the invention.

Glue is applied to the glue pad by a roller moving thereover and to andfrom a glue supply. Mounted on the fixed table 15 is a glue tanktable 33which is substantially level with an extension of the bed plate 14.Supported upon the glue tank table is a glue reservoir comprising a gluetank 34, through which passes a shaft 35 of a glue feeding roller 36,which dips into the glue in the tank. The shaft 35 passes through thesides of the tank 34 and is supported by standards '37 on either side ofthe tank. Mounted at opposite sides of the forward portion of the tankare plates 38 which ex-' tend above the tank and have horizontal slots39 in their forward and rear edges, in which are located bearing boxes40 held in place in the slots by plates 41 secured, respectively, to theinner and outer edges of the plate 38. Supported by the bearing box inthe rear slot 39 is a gage roller 42 which may be adjusted toward andfrom the feed roller to regulate the thickness of the glue carriedbeyond the gage roller and trans ferred to the glue delivery roller 43,which is mounted parallel with the feed roller 36 on a shaft 44supported in the forward bearing box 40. A spring is interposed betweenthe forward bearing box and the rear wall of the slot 39 serving tocushion the roller 43 and to provide for the ready adjustment of saidroller 43 toward and from the roller 36, by a set screw, as clearlyshown. The amount of adhesive taken from the roller 36 may be quicklyregulated by this means. The gage roller and the supply roller arecontinuously driven through toothed gears attached thereto,respectively, outside the tank, and meshing with a gear wheel on theshaft 35, which latter is continuously driven through sprocket and chainconnection with the shaft 12, as clearly shown.

The standards 37 extend toward each other at their upper portions andsupport one end of horizontal guide rods 45 in substantially verticalalinement with walls of the glue tank. Each guide rod 45 is composed ofupper and lower parallel portions 46, 47 spaced apart and forming slotstherebetween within which reciprocates the sides of a frame 48 formed ofparallel spaced connected bars having removably mounted at one endbetween the bars aglue-applying roller 49. The shaft of the roller 49extends through its supporting bar at one side and is provided withmeans to govern the rotative movement thereof, in this instancecomprising a disk 50 fast to the shaft and adapted to contact with afriction plate 51 projecting from one side of the upper surface of oneof the guide rods 45 adjacent that point in ,the path of the applyingroller where the glue is applied to the pad. Preferably the disk 50 hasa beveled edge and the friction plate isprovided with a groove 52 havinginclined walls to receive and guide the edge of the roller 50. Brackets53 project from the platform 2 and serve to support the guide rods 45 attheir inner ends. The frame 48 is adapted to reciprocate in the guidebars 45 to move the roller 49 from the glue supplyroller 43 to the gluepad and in order to effect this movement, said frame is pivotally joinedat its rear portion by an adjustable connecting rod 54 to the upper endof a glue roller operating lever 55 fulcrumed on a bracket 56 mounted onthe supporting table of. the machine, the lowerend of the lever 55 beingpivotally joined to a connecting rod 57 by a link 58. Mounted beneaththe table 15- is a horizontal rockarm 59 pivotally connected to the rod57 and provided with a cam roller 60 which is engaged by a horizontallyarranged cam 61 immediately driven from the lower portion of thevertical shaft 11. A strong spring 62 is connected to the end of thelever 55 and to the frame of the machine tomaintain the roller 60 incontact with the cam and cause the operation of the lever 55 in onedirection.

In operation, the main driving shaft communicates motion through thegears 8 and 9 l to the shaft 11, which in turn,'through the cam 61, thelever 55 and connecting devices, reciprocates the frame 48, moving theroller 49 and transferring glue from the glue supply roller to the gluepad on the cross head 16. The movement of the roller 49 across and incontact with the face of the glue pad preferably takes place while thebox rests are moving from one position to an immediately succeedingposition, and consequently l the glue pad is at a sufficient elevationat. this time to permit the roller 49 to pass across the path of theboxes and apply glue to the pad without coming in contact with theboxes. When the glue-applying roller 49 leaves the rotating roller-43,or rolls off of eitherend of the glue pad, rotary motion hasbeenco-mmunicated thereto which may continue until said roller againmakes contact with the pad. This motion maybe the reverse of that givenby its next contact with the pad, and under such conditions adisproportionate amount of glue might be applied to the pad at its edge,and it'is desirable, therefore, to bring the roller incontact with thepad while the roller has no rotary motion, or motion only in thedirection which would be given by immediate subsequent contact with thepad. Furthermore, the roller, when applying glue to the pad, shouldpreferably roll thereon. Mechanism is accordingly provided to controlthe motion of the roller L9 before it contacts with the pad and to.insure rolling motion while in contact, comprising the friction roller50 and the plate 51. Friction roller 50 contacts with the plate 51 justbefore the roller a9 contacts with the pad and, as the latter passesacross the pad, the friction roller 50 rolls along the plate 51, thedirection of its rotary movement on the plate being the same as that ofthe rotary movement communicated to the roller 4L9 by its movementacross the pad. Vhen the roller 4L9 leaves the pad it might continue torotate until it returned thereto and for this reason the friction plate51 projects beyond the opposite end of the pad so as to contact with thefriction roller 50 just before the delivery roller contacts with the padon its reverse movement. Thus the contact of the roller 4L9 with the padis made when the roller has practically no rotary motion or has rotarymotion in the same direction as that com municated thereto by contactwith the pad, and in this manner is prevented the application of adisproportionate amount of glue to the ends of the glue pad and thesubse quent application of a blot of glue to the surface of the box, asexplained above, thus effecting the application of uniform surface ofadhesive to the boxes. The shaft 12 is provided with a bevel gear 63which communicates motion to a stub shaft 64:, which in turn, by meansof sprocket wheel and chain connections, drives the horizontal gluefeeding roller shaft 35.

The numeral 65 indicates an endless conveyer belt moving over thehorizontal surface of a trough having upstanding Walls 66 to guide andretain the boxes which are placed on the belt, preferably by hand. Thebelt 65 passes over rollers 67, one of which is positively driven fromthe shaft 5 through chain 68, shaft 69 and bevel gear 70 meshing with abevel gear 71 on the shaft 11, the belt 65 being thus continuouslydriven during the operation of the machine. The boxes are placed on thebelt open side down and are successively frictionally carried thereby toa predetermined position against a stop 7 2 extending across the trough,whereby the boxes are successively positioned in line with mechanismwhich transfers the boxes one by one from thebelt to position above thepath of the box rests 13, and eventually places the boxes on the rests,respectively, as they pass beneath the boxes so held. The mechae nismfor transferring the boxes from the belt to the carrier is specificallydescribed and claimed in the co-pending application hereinbeforereferred to, hence only a general description herein will be made.

As the cross head 16 rises and falls, a rack 73 thereon, through gear741-, rocks shaft 75, which in turn rocks arm 76 pivotally joined to oneend of connecting rod 77, the other end of which is pivotally connectedto a picker rod 78 having a picker finger 79 pivotally dependingtherefrom and adapted to pass back and forth across the belt 65. In itsmovement in one direction the finger 79 will engage the side wall of thebox in position against the stop 72 and push or draw the same from thebelt along a track or guide and into a retaining device sup ported by abracket 81 projecting from the platform 2. The retaining device ispositioned to support the box above that point in the path of the boxrests where they are temporarily held stationary, and comprises spacedvertical side walls 82 between which the box is received, and pivotedlevers 83 having wide fingers 8% adapted to project across the walls 82and temporarily support the box. The upper ends of the levers 83 havecam slots 85 engaged by rollers of a cross piece 86 secured to the rodof a plunge comprising a head 87 adapted to reciprocate between thewalls 82. The rod 78 is provided with a cam slot 88 formed by bars 89,and the slot 88 engages an anti-friction roller 90 mounted on an arm 91fastened to the plunger. The parts are so proportioned and timed that abox will be transferred from the belt to a box rest whenever a rest isin stationary position beneath the retainer. In order that the pickermay not injure or displace the box on the belt in its movement tofeeding position, a pivoted switch 92 cooperates with a pin 98 carriedby the picker finger to raise the latter above the boxes as it passesback thereover, a spring 9% returning the finger to picking positionagainst a a stop spring 95.

The operation of the machine will be apparent from the foregoingdescription. As the boxes arrive against the stop 72 they aretransferred one by one to the rests 13, which are brought to stationaryposition beneath the retainer. The boxes either drop onto the rests orare pushed thereon by the plunger head 8?, telescoping with the restsand being securely held thereon. lVhen the box arrives beneath the gluepad, the latter descends and coats the surface of the box with a smoothand uniform surface of glue. The machine is automatic in operation, theboxes being successively transferred from the belt to the carrier andsuccessively pre sented to the gluing mechanism, so that a large numberof boxes may be efficiently coated in a relatively short time,econon1ically without waste of glue, and without gumming up adjacentparts. It is obvious that any eflicient form'of mechanism might beprovided for removing the coated boxes from the machine, such, forexample, as that described in my prior application hereinbefore referredto.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and manyapparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be madewithout departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all mattercontained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawingsshall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting'sense. It isalso to be understood that the language used in the following claims isintended to cover all of the generic and specific features of theinvention herein described and. all statements of the scope of theinvention, which, as a matter of language, might be said to falltherebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a gluesupply, a glue pad, means adapted to roll on the pad to apply gluethereto, and means to insure rolling motion of the last-mentioned meanson the pad.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a gluesupply, a glue pad, roller means adapted to transfer glue from thesupply to the pad, and means to govern the rotation of the roller.

3. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a gluesupply, a glue pad, roller means adapted to transfer glue from thesupply to the pad, and means to direct the rotation of the roller.

4. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a gluesupply comprising a delivery roller, means to rotate the deliveryroller, a glue pad spaced from the delivery roller, means adapted totransfer glue from the delivery roller to the pad comprising aglue-applying roller, and friction means to direct the rotation of theglueapplying roller in contact with the pad.

5. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a gluesupply comprising a delivery roller, means to rotate the deliveryroller, a glue pad spaced from the delivery roller, means adapted totransfer glue from the delivery roller to the pad comprising aglue-applying roller, a friction wheel on the glue-applying roller, anda plate in the path of the wheel adapted to contact therewith prior tocontact of the applying roller and pad.

6. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a gluesupply, a glue pad spaced therefrom, means adapted to transfer glue fromthe supply to the pad comprising a reciprocatory device including aglue-applying roller adapted to pass beyond the pad at either side, afriction plate located adjacent the pad and extending beyond the same ateither end, and means carried by the transfer means adapted to contactwith" the friction plate to direct rotation of the roller prior tocontact with the 8. In an apparatus of the character de scribed, incombination, a glue supply, a box-supporting device, a glue carrier,means adapted to cause the carrier and box-supporting device to approacheach other, comprising mechanism to so limit their approach that theywill not contact, and a device adapted to strip the box from the ecarrier when 1t adheres-thereto.

9. In an apparatus of the character described, in'combination, a rotarytable, box rests carried thereby in an endless path, a reciprocatoryglue pad, means to rotate the table step by step to position the restsin' line with the pad, stationary fingers above the path of the boxrests in alinement with the pad, and means to reciprocate the pad towardand from the rest.

10. In an apparatus of the character at scribed, in combination, a gluesupply, means to convey a series of boxes, horizontally spaced guidewaysleading fromthe glue supply across the path of the boxes, a frameadapted to reciprocate in the guideways, a glue-applying roller carriedby the frame, a glue pad adapted to reciprocate in the path of the boxesand between the guideways and receive glue from the applying roller, andmeans to reciprocate the glueapplying roller.

11. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, amovable member adapted to support an article to be glued, a glue padmember, means adapted to cause relative reciprocatory movement betweensaid members in line with each other, a glue delivery roller spaced fromsaid pad, means adapted to transfer glue from said delivery roller tosaid pad comprising guide rods, av

frame slidably supported on said rods and a glue applying roller mountedon said frame and adapted to contact said delivery roller and said pad,a friction plate, and a disk mounted on the applying roller and adaptedto contact said plate.

12. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a seriesof rests, means adapted to feed hollow articles and cause them torespectively telescopically engage over said rests so that the Walls ofsaid articles will be braced by said rests, and

means adapted to apply adhesive directly to braced walls of saidrespective articles.

13. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a seriesof rests, means adapted to feed hollow articles and cause them torespectively telescopically engage over said rests so that the walls ofsaid articles will be braced by said rests, a yieldingly mountedadhesive carrying pad, and means adapted to press the adhesive face ofsaid pad against said braced walls of said articles.

let. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, aseries of rests, means adapted to feed hollow articles and cause them torespectively telescopically engage over said rests so that the walls ofsaid articles will be braced by said rests, a yieldingly mountedadhesive carrying pad, means adapted to press the adhesive face of saidpad against said braced walls of said articles, and means adapted tostrip an adhering article from said pad.

15. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a seriesof rests, means adapted to feed hollow articles and cause them torespectively telescopically engage over said rests so that the walls ofsaid articles will be braced by said rests, a pad adapted to carryadhesive, a glue applying roller adapted to roll on said pad and therebytransfer adhesive to said pad, and means to direct the rotation of saidglue applying roller relative to said pad.

16. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a seriesof rests. means adapted to feed hollow articles and cause them torespectively telescopically engage over said rests so that the walls ofsaid articles will be braced by said rests, a yieldingly mountedadhesive carrying pad, means adapted to press the adhesive face of saidpad against said braced walls of said articles, and means adapted toprevent the adhesive face of said pad from contacting with said rests.

17. In an apparatus of the character de scribed, in combination, aseries of rests, means adapted to feed hollow articles and cause themtorespectively telescopically engage over said rests so that the wallsof said articles will be braced by said rests, and means adapted toapply a liquid coat directly to braced walls of said respectivearticles.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

LY NDON CONS'IANTINE PALMER.

Witnesses:

H. C. CoPPINs, J. H. PATERSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G.

